


Present

by Eve1978



Category: Tom Hiddleston - Fandom
Genre: Birthday, F/M, Feels, Flashbacks, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Romance, Romantic Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-22
Updated: 2015-06-22
Packaged: 2018-04-05 16:03:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,025
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4186071
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eve1978/pseuds/Eve1978
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A little fluffy one shot I wrote in February for Tom's birthday.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Present

‘Oh shit, oh no…shit!’ 

Lizzy looked up at me from the other side of the table as she took another sip from her coffee.   
‘What?’ she asked as she put the cup down.  
  ‘The 9th of February is tomorrow?!’ I panicked as I looked through my calendar on my phone.   
‘Yes, time flies,’ she said,’ what’s wrong? Did you forget something?’ 

‘Tom…’ I sighed as I put down my phone and leaned back in my chair.

  ‘Tom’s birthday is tomorrow,’ I said with another sigh,’ I have never forgotten his birthday in the 20 years that we’ve known each other! How could I just forget?’  
 ‘Maybe because he hasn’t called or texted you in over 8 months’ Lizzy said as she raised her eyebrow at me.    
‘He’s got a lot on his plate’ I said. 

‘Yes, he’s very busy being a big shot and hanging out with famous people now while forgetting all about his poor old friends’ she remarked.  
 ‘Come on, that’s not fair Lizzy.'  
‘It takes less than one minute to send a text Rebecca,’ she said,’ literally 30 seconds to say Hi I was just thinking about you, how have you been?’    
‘He has a lot of friends and he knows a lot of people,’ I tried to defend him.

 ‘Yes he does,’ she admitted,’ and you are apparently not very high on that list.’

I let out another deep sigh. I couldn’t blame her for thinking like that.   Me and Tom had been friends since childhood, since the day he and his parents and two sisters moved in next to us. I got along really well with Emma and Sarah but it was their clumsy curly haired 14 year old brother with the big smile that I liked more than anyone. We quickly became friends and stayed that way throughout our teenage years.

We had even managed to stay in touch with each other long after that when he had moved to London and it had become somewhat of a tradition that no matter how busy the both of us were, we would always try to meet up on our birthdays.    
But the past five years that promise seemed harder and harder to keep. On my last birthday I had to make due with a small phone call from him. 

I didn’t blame him, he had been working so hard for so long to be where he was now, how could I be anything but happy for him? I was over the moon that he was living his dream, he deserved every ounce of success coming his way now, but I also missed my friend.  

Was that what he was to me? Just a friend…  

Lizzy could see the sad look on my face and reached out her hand across the table to grab mine and squeezed it softly.  
 ‘Becca,’ she spoke softer now,’ maybe it’s finally time to let him go, honey.’   
‘I…can’t,’ I whispered.

 I wiped away my tears and shook my head as I looked into Lizzy’s eyes.    
‘You’re going home, aren’t you?’ she then asked.  
  ‘I have to,’ I sighed,’ if he’s there…I have to see him.’

 After we said our goodbyes I made my way to the train station and took the first train out of the city and up to my hometown, I knew there was a big chance that he might not even be there but if there was any chance that he was…I had to at least try.   
Even if it was just to finally be able to let him go, like Lizzy suggested, though I didn’t really want to think about that right now.  As I stared out of the window all I could think about was seeing him and looking into those gorgeous blue eyes again, they always made everything better, even when things seemed hopeless…   

 

***

‘Bec!’ his voice was almost loud enough to fill the entire street,’ Bec, wait up!’ What’s wrong with you?’   
I turned around in anger and shook my head.  
 ‘You’re leaving?’ I yelled.   I could see the initial shock on his face, he thought I wouldn’t find out yet.   
‘I…I was…’  
The otherwise so eloquent 18 year old boy in front of me was suddenly struggling to find the right words.  

‘Were you even going to tell me?’ I asked, my anger was quickly turning into sadness and I wasn’t willing to show him that part yet so I balled my fists and tried to hold onto it.  
  ‘Of course I was,’ he said, clearly offended by my accusation, his hands were running through his long blond curls while he was shifting nervously on his feet,’ I just…I didn’t want to say anything before I was sure, I only got the letter yesterday morning…I don’t know why you’re so upset Bec, you’re leaving for London too, we won’t be that far away from each other, we can visit during the weekends as much as we want’  
  ‘I didn’t get in,’ I spoke quietly and I could feel the tears sting in the back of my eyes.  

‘What?’ he asked softly, the look of sympathy and shock on his face took away the last bit of anger I had left and I just hung my shoulders and head as the tears fell.  

‘I didn’t get in,’ I repeated,’ I’ll be stuck in a local college…London is not happening Tom, not for me.’    
He seemed to be stuck to the ground for a moment, unable to move or process what I had just said, I had never seen him look at me with such a serious expression on his face.

  ‘I’m so sorry, Bec,’ he then whispered, his eyes found mine and as he watched me cry I could see tears forming in his eyes too but he bit his lip to hold them back and turned his face away from mine.   
‘You can still visit me in London,’ he then spoke softly.    
‘You know that’s never going to happen,’ I sighed.   
‘I’ll be home for the holidays,’ he said,’ it’s not like we’ll never see each other again.’

 ‘It won’t be the same,’ I sobbed.  
 ‘You’ll find new friends,’ he then said as he gave me a little encouraging smile, trying to make me feel better, as if he didn’t know my world was falling apart,’ you get along with everyone so well Bec, you’ll make new friends easily, who knows maybe even a boyfriend, I’ll be the last thing on your mind.  
’  
I shook my head in tears, waiting for him to hug me which he never did.

  ‘You’ll never be the last thing on my mind’ 

 ***  

I woke up in the train when my phone buzzed, it was already dark outside telling me I was close to home. I let out a relieved sigh knowing I was almost there but that relief was short lived as I watched my screen lit up with Tom’s name on it.    
My nerves hit the roof instantly, just the sight of his name and the picture behind it, that warm smile and those gorgeous blue eyes were staring right at me, it was the selfie he sent me last year from Venice Beach in LA.  It was the first summer he stayed over in America and the first year that we didn’t get to see each other in person once, I knew it wouldn’t be the last year that would happen.  
I remembered exactly how I felt when he sent it to me then, how I wanted nothing more than to be there with him, how badly I longed to just feel his arms around me, smell the sun on his sunburnt skin and hear his voice for longer than five minutes through the phone.  

But right now the thought of having to talk to him was suddenly too much, I wasn’t ready. So I put down my phone with a sigh and let it go straight to voice mail.

After calming myself down for a few minutes I worked up the nerve to listen to his message, my heart fluttered as soon as I heard him speak my name in that deep warm tone of his:   ‘Bec? Pick up darling. I just want to let you know I arrived in Heathrow this morning and I’m about half an hour from my parent’s house right now, you'd better be on your way there!’ 

He sounded energetic and happy which put a smile on my face but then I heard him let out a deep sigh and his tone changed:  ’ Becca…I’m sorry I haven’t called you more often, it’s been so hectic, it’s been absolutely amazing and crazy the past year…but…that’s no excuse is it?…I feel so bad about it darling.’ 

His voice suddenly sounded incredibly tired and my heart sank.

‘I’m sorry, I think I’m a little bit jet lagged, will you please come tomorrow? Please?…I’d really like to see you…I have missed you so…’

And with those words he hung up, leaving me breathless in my seat as the train rolled into my hometown.

***  

‘I got it! Oh my fucking god! I got it!’  

He was practically bouncing of the couch in his London flat after he received the call and it was impossible not to smile with him. He was up and pacing around the room, trying not to scream for the whole world to hear it, after 4 years of grueling auditions and small guest roles it had finally happened, he managed to land a role in a movie, a huge movie by a huge director, this was the break he had been waiting for and with his twenty-six years of age it was the perfect time for his career to finally take off.

  I had come to visit him in London that weekend, it was my birthday and he had invited me over to spend it with him and his friends, which I gladly accepted.  

The past years had been kind to me, my college years turned out to be more fun than I ever expected, Tom had been right, I had made new friends quickly and they had eased the pain of missing my best friend, which didn’t mean that I didn’t think about him anymore, it just meant that we both got used to the situation of not being in each other’s life as often as before.  

I watched his friends congratulate him and stayed in the background until he came to me, the biggest smile I had ever seen on his lips and a twinkle in his eyes as he put his arms around my waist and lifted me off the ground to spin around with me in his arms.  

‘I fucking did it Bec! he laughed.   I let out a surprised scream as I hugged him back and he put me back down, keeping his arms around me as his eyes found mine.   
‘I don’t know anyone who deserves it more’, I smiled,’ and I’ve told you this would happen, it was only a matter of time before some big shot noticed how amazing and talented you actually are.’  
 I thought his smile couldn’t get bigger but I swore I could still see it grow.  
  ‘Thank you,’ he then said, his voice soft and more quiet suddenly’ step outside with me for a bit.’  

He took my hand and guided me to the balcony, away from the loud chatter of his friends and into the nightly London air. I had fallen in love with the city a little bit more every time I visited him here, which hadn’t really been that often, but there was something magical about London no matter what season you chose to come here. Right now it was a warm summer night and the stars were shining bright above us, making it even more perfect.    
He let out a deep sigh and smiled again,’ I’m so happy you’re here for this, I’m never going to forget this moment.’ 

‘Well, you’d better not forget about me when you’re a big Hollywood star,’ I said.   
‘Not a chance,’ he said with a soft smile and he surprised me by taking my hand and turning me towards him.  I was mesmerized by his eyes in the moonlight and the way they lit up when he looked at me, the smile was gone from his face now and I could see a little blush creeping up on his cheeks.   He took something from his pocket and put it in my hand, it was a small pink box with a little ribbon on it.   
‘Happy birthday’ he said softly. 

‘You didn’t have to get me anything,’ I shook my head in a smile as I carefully opened the box, I was almost blinded by the beauty of the two shiny silver earrings looking up at me. 

‘Tom…’ my breath was caught in my throat,’ oh my god…these are…gorgeous!’  
  ‘They’re lilies,’ he said,’ I hope those are still your favourite?’  
 I looked up into his hopeful eyes and nodded my head.

  ‘They are,’ I said and I couldn’t hide the smile on my face as I put my arms around his neck and hugged him, he pulled me against his chest and held me for some time, not making any attempt to break the hug, I leaned into him and when I felt his hands softly caress my back we both let out a heavy sigh.  
 ‘I’m so glad you’re here tonight,’ he whispered.  
 ‘So am I.’   

We stayed in the hug a little bit longer until he leaned back and let his hands sink down to my waist while he looked at me.  
 ‘Do you really like them?’ he then asked softly.  
‘I love them, they’re perfect,’ I said,’ thank you so much, Tom, this might be the best birthday gift I ever got.’   
He leaned his forehead against mine, making me catch my breath as his eyes locked with mine.  
 ‘Tom,’ I whispered.  
  ‘There’s something else I want to give you,’ he said, his voice was shaking,’ if you’ll let me…’    
His thumb brushed my cheek to land on my lips and I closed my eyes for a moment, he took the opportunity to open my mouth slowly with his thumb before he put his lips on mine, I got goosebumps all over my skin as he kissed me.  His lips were softer and warmer than I had ever imagined, I kissed him back for a moment, allowing myself to dream away under his touch but then reality hit me and I put my hands on his chest and pushed him back.  

‘I have a boyfriend,’ I spat out and I bit my lip and turned away from him,’ I’m sorry, I should have said something before…it’s only been five months and I didn’t think it would matter.’ 

When I turned around to look at him again the disappointed look on his face was almost too much for me to bear.   
‘I’m so sorry,’ I muttered,’ I shouldn’t have kissed you back, I’m sorry.’    
He shook his head and let his hands run through his curls as he let out a deep sigh.

 ‘It’s not your fault Bec,’ he then spoke softly,’ it was presumptuous of me to think…I’m the one that should be sorry.’    
We both stayed quiet for a few moments, I wished the ground would open up and swallow me, of all the times he could have picked to kiss me in the past years why did it have to be now? Why did he wait so long?   
 I looked up at him but he couldn’t even stand to look at me anymore.

  ‘Shall we just go back inside?’ I suggested.  He nodded his head and opened the window to the flat to let me step inside, still avoiding to look at me.  

‘He’s a very lucky guy,’ he whispered just before he closed the window behind us and disappeared into the kitchen.   It was the last thing he said to me that night.  

***  

I could hear the chatter and laughter long time before I entered the house, the Hiddleston’s were always a warm and welcoming family and tonight was no different. I was pulled into a hug by Emma as soon as I stepped inside.   
‘Rebecca!’ she smiled her beautiful wide smile,’ it’s so good to see you! Tom will be so happy you’re here!’  

After being greeted by a few more family members I managed to make my way to the living room, my heart beating a little bit faster with every step, my nerves had never been this bad before, I assumed because we hadn’t seen each other in so long, and his message had left me with butterflies that hadn’t gone away in the slightest during the train ride here.  

But it all faded as soon as I saw him…

  He was wearing a tight black jeans and white shirt, showing off every muscle in that perfect body of his, the years really had been kind to him, he looked better than ever and I had to stop myself from staring.  He was chatting away with the people in front of him, and as usual he talked as much with his hands as with his mouth, everyone was hanging on his every word and I smiled to see some things never changed.   
When my eyes finally reached his face he had noticed me standing across the room and his mouth dropped, the expression of shock quickly followed by a big warm smile as he walked up to me without even looking back, leaving the group behind to continue their conversation without him.

  ‘Bec!’ he said surprised,’ oh my god, you’re actually here!’  
 ‘Happy birthday stranger,’ I said with a smile, letting my eyes roam over his face.  His hair was short and a little darker, probably for a new role, there was no longer any sign of those long curls but it looked amazing on him, I had seen more pictures of him the past years than I had seen him in person but a picture never did him justice.    
The boy from next door had grown into the most gorgeous man I knew, he had always been that for me but seeing him here now in front of me, he still took my breath away.

 It seemed I wasn’t the only one having trouble breathing, he hadn’t said another word and just kept staring at me, the smile turned softer and the look in his eyes was something new to me.  
  ‘This is where you say thank you and give me a hug or something,’ I said, making him shake his head in an apologetic smile.  
 ‘I’m sorry,’ he muttered,’ I…thank you.’  
 ‘You’re welcome,’ I said.

  ‘God, you look…I forgot how…;’ he was still searching for words and I couldn’t help but smile.  
 ‘Did you forget your line?’ I teased him and I could see him relax as he laughed.    
‘I’m sorry,’ he then said,’ I wasn’t sure if you would even be here and…this is the best birthday gift I could have asked for, Bec.’ 

He took my hand and squeezed it softly as he pulled me a little closer and I put my other hand on his chest.  
 ‘I’m glad you feel that way,’ I then said,’ cause I don’t actually have a gift.’   
He lifted his eyebrow.   
‘Did you forget?’ he then asked, pretending to be shocked,’ did you forget my birthday?!’  
  ‘I’m so sorry,’ I said quickly,’ I don’t know how that happened! I never forget but somehow…’

 ‘Shhh, I was only teasing,’ he reassured me,’ I know we haven’t seen or heard each other often during the past years.’   
I nodded my head and he gave my hand another squeeze.   
‘I wanted to apologize to you for that,’ he then said softly, a serious look on his face now.    
‘That’s not only your fault, Tom,’ I said,’ it’s just the way it goes, life happens, you lose some friends along the way, it happens to everyone when they grow up.’ 

He put my hand on his chest and tangled his fingers with mine while he stared into my eyes.  
  ‘I don’t want it to happen to us,’ he then spoke softly as he brought my hand to his lips and put a soft kiss on it, it was enough to make me shiver.   
‘Me neither,’ I whispered,’ Tom, there’s something I need to…’

  I couldn’t finish my sentence because he put his arms around me and pulled me against his chest, I wrapped my arms around his waist and sank into his warm embrace, the smell of him and that familiar cologne I could swear was still the same one he wore years ago, my heart was about to break through my chest.    
He leaned his forehead against mine and I clung to his white shirt, our eyes finding each other and there was that look again.   

Who was I kidding? I hadn’t come here to let him go, I would never be able to let him go, I wanted him now more than ever.

  ‘What did you want to say?’ he asked.  
 ‘I…’

My voice was suddenly stuck in my throat, I had been ready to throw it all out just moments ago but it had been a temporary moment of bravery and it was gone now.    
‘It’s…nothing,’ I stuttered and I bit my lip as my voice trembled,’ it doesn’t matter…it…the timing isn’t right, we both have our lives and it would be too difficult anyway and…I don’t even know if you even feel anything…shit! Forget I said that, I didn’t mean..I don’t know what I’m saying.’

  I shook my head and tried to laugh it off but he put his finger on my lips and leaned his face against mine as he let out a deep sigh, I could feel his arms tighten around me.

 ‘Tell me, darling,’ he then whispered.   I shook my head, his lips were so close to mine it was making me dizzy, if his arms weren’t around me to keep me standing I would be sinking through my shaking knees right now.  
 ‘Please tell me,’ he repeated as his hand sank into my neck, forcing me to look at him.

  ‘I love you,’ I whispered, feeling the tears fall as soon as I spoke the words,’ I think I always have.’  

I didn’t know what was bigger, my relief that I finally managed to tel him or my fear of him rejecting me on the spot.   He didn’t give me any time to worry about that because he leaned in and kissed my lips softly, brushing my tears away with his fingers before taking my face into his hands and looking at me again with the warmest smile I had ever seen on his lips.

  Before I could say anything else his mouth was on mine again, a little more urgent and intense this time and he deepened the kiss while he held me against his chest.    
We didn’t stop kissing until we had no other choice and we both had to come up for air, I was still clinging to him and leaning on him to keep me steady on my feet.

  ‘I wish I had told you sooner,’ I breathed, trying to find my voice,’ but there was always…something in our way and…’  
 ‘There isn’t now,' he whispered as he stared into my eyes and let his hands roam over my shoulders and down to my back.

 ‘No there isn’t,’ I smiled.  
  ‘This is without a doubt the best birthday gift you could have given me,’ he then spoke softly.  
 ‘Tom,’ I whispered a little hesitantly,’ I…I need to hear you say it.’ 

He leaned his head against mine and pulled me closer again while he brought his mouth to my ear and whispered: ’ I love you my sweet Becca, I always have and I’m never going to stop.’

 

     


End file.
